Today's News

Two Fries men are charged in connection with a Nov. 2 traffic stop in Galax that led to drug-related charges.
Police said that drugs were found after Officer Trevor Jefferson pulled over a vehicle operated by Ronnie Aaron Piner.
Piner was originally pulled over for a traffic violation, police said, and further observation led Jefferson to investigate further.
A search of Piner turned up drug paraphernalia, according to a police report. (Piner was not included in a previous newspaper report about the traffic stop.)

Editor’s Note: Some partisan calls from both sides about candidates in the election were received between deadlines for the Readers Hotline that appeared last week and this week. They have been omitted because, after the election, they are no longer relevant.

HILLSVILLE — The new police chief, hired on a split vote late Tuesday, has patrolled the streets of Hillsville before.
At the end of a special meeting on personnel, Hillsville Town Council members chose Greg Bolen as the person to fill the vacancy left by former chief Steve Williams' resignation.
Bolen is a former Hillsville Police Department officer who now teaches criminal justice at Carroll County High School.

WOODLAWN — Voting can work up an appetite for the many people who come to the precinct at Woodlawn School, members of the United Methodist Church just across the road have long understood.
For around 15 years, serving a spaghetti lunch at the Woodlawn church has been an Election Day tradition for food, fellowship and fundraising.

WOODLAWN — Former Carroll Sheriff Richard “Dick” Carrico, 71, died at his home in Woodlawn on Tuesday.
Carrico served as a trooper with the Virginia State Police and as the Carroll sheriff for two terms for a total of 28 years in law enforcement, according to those who worked with him at the sheriff’s office.
Carrico left his coworkers with lots of memories of their time together.

FRIES — Family members of Samuel Joseph Sheehi are continuing to ask for community assistance in finding the missing Fries man.
The family is working with Twin County law enforcement to find Sheehi, who has been missing for four weeks.
Family members say 32-year-old Sheehi was last seen Oct. 10.

In the end, Tim Kaine didn’t need presidential coattails to win election to the U.S. Senate.
With the outcome of the presidential vote still uncertain in Virginia late Tuesday, Democrat Kaine claimed victory over Republican George Allen in their bruising battle for an open Senate seat.
Soon, Kaine will be off to Washington to join fellow Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, the man he succeeded as governor in 2006.
In a victory speech, Kaine pledged he’ll work to find solutions to the nation’s economic problems.

Incumbent U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Salem) comfortably won his first Congressional re-election contest Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Anthony Flaccavento of Abingdon.
Flaccavento, a first-time candidate, and Griffith, a 17-year member of the General Assembly and former state House majority leader, vied for the 9th Congressional District seat.
The district includes the City of Galax and Carroll and Grayson counties.
Griffith had 61 percent of the vote to Flaccavento’s 39 percent with all precincts reporting Wednesday afternoon.

On the color-coded maps of TV political pundits, Virginia is now a “blue” Democratic state, but it still has a solidly “red” Republican half in Southwest Virginia.
But more counties doesn’t equal more votes — something Mitt Romney and George Allen discovered on Election Night.
Despite the Republican sweep of the Twin Counties and dominance in Southwest Virginia, presidential candidate Mitt Romney could not overcome the Democratic influence in the more populous eastern and northern parts of the state.